Five things to know about Ivory Coast as it goes to polls

The Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer and a centre of growth and stability in west Africa, goes to the polls on Saturday with President Alassane Ouattara expected to win a fourth term.

- From stability to crisis -

Ivory Coast, bordered by the Atlantic, gained independence from France in 1960.

It saw three decades of stability and prosperity under its first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who only introduced a multi-party system in 1990.

In 1999, an army mutiny was followed by a coup, the first in the country's history.

Then in 2002 a military uprising effectively cut the country in two, with rebels holding the north and the army retaining control of the south.

The US-trained economist has dominated political life since, even as other countries in francophone Africa have been rocked by coups.

That does not mean Ivory Coast has been without political violence, however.

Ouattara's rival Laurent Gbago, barred from Saturday's vote, contested the 2010 election result, leading to violence killing 3,000 people.

Anti-Ouattara protests also claimed the lives of some 85 people in post-2020 election violence.

This time round, tensions have climbed in recent weeks, with at least one person dying in demonstrations against a possible fourth term by Ouattara.

Ivory Coast is one of the continent's most dynamic and promising economies.

The country of almost 32 million people has for more than a decade had one of the fastest growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank.

It is the world's leading producer of cacao, the raw material for cocoa; also produces cashew nuts, and has a thriving oil industry.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast a 6.4 percent increase in growth this year and next, after six percent in 2024, fuelled by the oil and gas sectors.

The government has said it aims to reduce the poverty rate to less than 20 percent by 2030. It stood at 37.5 percent in 2021, according to the national statistics office.

But, as cacao plantations spread, the country has over the last six decades lost 90 percent of its forests, according to a 2021 survey.

Faced with poaching and the gradual destruction of their natural habitats, big mammals have largely disappeared, according to the survey which underlined the need to protect chimpanzees, buffaloes and elephants.

Icons of the Ivory Coast, the number of elephants has dropped by half in three decades, and they now number less than 500.

Ivory Coast has remained firmly within the sphere of French influence, despite a decade-long crisis in relations in the 2000s.

It has held on to those links even as neighbouring Sahel countries, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, came under control of juntas rejecting and shunning the former colonial power.

- Land of reggae and dance -

Ivory Coast is a country of reggae, with its internationally-known stars Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly.

It also introduced the zouglou and coupe-decale dance music styles around the world.

Since then other Ivorian musicians have become known internationally, thanks to streaming, notably rappers Didi B and KS Bloom.